WINNIPEG – Winterpeg earned its moniker this year in what has been an unusually cruel winter for businesses as well as people.
A slow start to spring has forced companies like Septagon Contracting to clear snow from roofs rather than build them.
They’re now a month behind schedule and each day that goes by means more business lost.
“It’s tougher for seasonal guys like us who do siding and roofing and stuff like that,” said Sean Tinney of Septagon Contracting. “You only have a certain time frame to do that and we’re cut down for a month here right now, so its tough.”
At Ron Paul Garden Centre, some staff have had their hours cut back , and others won’t start until later this spring. The owner isn’t concerned about the business — it usually evens out — but what he worries about are his seasonal staff, such as university student Jennifer Westphal, who will lose a month of work.
“I need to pay for at least half my school, so I try to work as much as I can over the summer and being pushed back this much … throws it all off completely,” said Westphal, who goes to the University of Manitoba.
Realtors are also noticing a downward trend. Sales are almost 10 per cent below the 10-year average. People are less inclined to look at homes when they can’t even see the property under a blanket of snow, real estate professionals said.
“With the snow and the cold, it slowed things down, definitely,” said Tony Marino, a realtor at Royal LePage. “The cold has had a massive impact on the market. It’s had a massive impact on everybody out there.”
Like other sectors, real-estate experts believe the market will even out as it begins to warm up, but the forecast says that won’t happen until at least early April.
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